May 10, 2013
George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
george.h.diller@nasa.gov
Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
jbuck@nasa.gov
Nancy Neal Jones
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-0039
nancy.n.jones@nasa.gov
MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-073
MEDIA ACCREDITATION OPEN FOR LAUNCH OF NASA'S NEXT MISSION TO MARS
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- International and U.S. media accreditation is
open for the launch of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution
(MAVEN) mission.
Liftoff is scheduled for 1:28 p.m. EST Monday, Nov. 18, aboard a
United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
International media representatives who plan to cover the MAVEN launch
must apply for credentials by Oct. 1 to meet NASA and U.S. Air Force
accreditation requirements. U.S. media also may begin the application
process at this time and must apply no later than Nov. 12. All
applications must be submitted online via the NASA Kennedy Space
Center's accreditation system at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
International journalists are required to submit a scanned copy of
their "I" visa and passport. Green card holders must submit a scanned
copy of their card. Scanned documents must be sent to
jennifer.p.horner@nasa.gov for the credential request to be
processed.
All media representatives must present two forms of legal
identification to enter Kennedy. At least one form must be a
government-issued photo identification, such as a passport or
driver's license.
Questions about accreditation should be addressed to Jennifer Horner
at jennifer.p.horner@nasa.gov, 321-867-6598 or 321-867-2468.
MAVEN is the second mission for NASA's Mars Scout Program. The mission
will obtain critical measurements of the Martian atmosphere to help
understand climate change throughout the Red Planet's history. MAVEN
is the first spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding Mars'
upper atmosphere. It will orbit the planet in an elongated, or
elliptical, orbit that allows it to pass through and sample the
entire upper atmosphere on every orbit. The spacecraft will
investigate how the loss of Mars' atmosphere to space determined the
history of water on the surface.
MAVEN's principal investigator is based at the University of Colorado
at Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. The
university will provide science operations and science instruments
and lead education and public outreach. NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the project and provides two of the
science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin of Littleton,
Colo., built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission
operations. The University of California at Berkeley Space Sciences
Laboratory provides science instruments for the mission. NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., provides navigation
support, the Deep Space Network and the Electra telecommunications
relay hardware and operations.
NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch
management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colo., is the
provider of the Atlas V launch service.
For more information about the MAVEN mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/maven
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